DOCSLIB.ORG

MAYALL BONDING (1991) How Rik Mayall Brought 'Drop Dead Fred' to Life

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
MAYALL BONDING (1991) How Rik Mayall Brought 'Drop Dead Fred' to Life ARCHIVE- MAYALL BONDING (1991) How Rik Mayall brought 'Drop Dead Fred' to life... Earlier this month comedian Rik Mayall passed away at the age of 56. He was generally regarded as being at the forefront of the wave of ground-breaking, anarchic humour that crashed into the mainstream of the 1980s and 1990s. In 1991, Rik Mayall went to America. or, in many ways, America came to him. Some predicted a transatlantic transplant and dazzling US career. However Drop Dead Fred turned out to be one of the comedian's very few forays across the Big Pond. It's a film that divided critics, but was arguablyan inspired idea, well presented and a great vehicle for Mayall. When Rik attended a screening of the film, just prior to its original UK release, he sat down to talk about how the project had evolved... Confession time. When I went to see the special sneak preview of Rik Mayall's new film, I actually walked straight past the actor/comedian without realising. Perhaps I can be excused that faux pas, by revealing that he had longish blond hair, was dressed in a smart black casual suit and carrying what looked like an executive satchel. Here was a man who could have just flown in from a business meeting in LA and be about to ask everyone to 'do lunch sometime'. Could it be ... had the Young One gone yuppie? - Nah! The problem is, of course, that we all expect Rik Mayall to be the eternal rebel he has so often appeared as. Despite the dramatic difference, his razor sharp wit and biting satire are still well intact and as barbed as ever. Rik is about to star in a new American movie with the eye-catching title Drop Dead Fred. His title role sees him as Elizabeth Cronin's (Phoebe Cates) imaginary childhood friend who comes back to help her when her marriage and life seem to be falling apart. Of course, no one else can see him and all his mischievous tricks are blamed on her. All in all, he seems to be screwing up her life even more. You see, Drop Dead Fred is a wacky, crazy guy with the morality of a seven year-old and worse dress sense than early-career Kvlie Minogue. He's got red hair, a loud yellow and green suit and loves to play tricks on people. When Elizabeth was young, people excused the tricks, but now they're all beginning to think she's a few sandwiches short of a picnic! What we end up with is a cross between Harvey and Beetlejuice. So how did Rik Mayall get involved? "It really started when the writers, Carlos Davis and Anthony Fingleton happened to be over here during Comic Relief and saw me being whipped by 'Margaret Thatcher'. Basically they thought, here's a guy who's cheap and will do anythingl I think they were a bit surprised that an Englishman could be so rude. Anyway, they sent along a film script that they thought I might be interested in. It was set in Oxford, but a terribly 'Americanised Oxford' full of policemen saying 'Keep a stiff upper lip, old boy...'. They were great guys and understood my reservations about playing a role like that. They still wanted to do something with me and came back with an idea they had been thinking about for a television series. They'd been talking with a mutual friend, Elizabeth Livingston, who was writing a story based on her little daughter's imaginary friend, Drop Dead Fred. They decided it would make a better film than series and approached me. I've always been a big performer in the sense of being very full of gestures and shouting. Drop Dead Fred is a way of letting that style of performing come over in an acceptable storyline and fun way. I can jump, scream, pick my nose and hit Phoebe over the head with a shovel and it doesn't seem out of place." The film also gives Rik the opportunity to work alongside top stars such as Carrie Fisher, Tim Matheson and Marsha Mason, not a bad line-up for his first major film to date. "Everyone was great to work with, even little Ashley Peldon (who plays Elizabeth as a child). We'd be stood ready to do a scene and she'd say 'You're not supposed to be there, your mark's here'. I'd tell her I was right and ask the crew to tell her. Most of the time they'd look at me and say 'Sorry Rik,the girl's right!' It was a case of 'Thanks Ashley (wallop)'. No she was really good. She's just landed a three picture contract with Disney. Of course Rik is better known on these shores than he is in the States. "Nobody knew who the fuck I was, at least film wise. Here I was, doing something virtually unheard of, a relative unknown who was playing the lead role in a big name feature. While I was promoting the film in the US I appeared on The David Letterman Show and was basically introduced as 'that funny guy from England'. It wasn't until he mentioned The Young Ones that people made the connection with my name. The Young Oneshas become quite a cult show over there. It played almost continually on MTV for two years (despite there being only twelve episodes ever made!)" Drop Dead Fred looks every bit an American film. In fact it is something of a British film in disguise. Yes, most of the actors and locations are in America but much of the financing and organising was done by forces on this side of the Atlantic. Davis and Fingleton took the idea to Working Title who bought the script at once. That was April 1990. By September principal photography was, as they say, in the can. The film opened in America with a respectable $4.2 million in its first week. That might not compare with the ETs and Batmans of the industry, but is excellent news for a film that only cost $6.5 million to make. ("Having said that," Rik laughs "They then went and spent $8 million on advertising. I don't know who they got to do it, but he's got a new house!") A majority of this fantasy was filmed in Minneapolis, with many of the background extras and smaller parts being taken by local actors and actresses. In what I personally think is one of the cleverest scenes in the movie, Drop Dead Fred encounters other peoples imaginary friends in a psychiatrist's waiting room, with characters such as 'Velcrohead' and 'Go To Hell Herman' joining the reunion. There's a distinctive feel to the film that has something of aTim Burton atmosphere to it. Had Rik seen Beetlejuicebefore starting the movie? "No and deliberately not. Someone else spotted the similarity in style and advised me not to see the film. I'm glad I haven't seen it. Any similarity between the film's style must be accidental. I will see Beetlejuice at some point, but I didn't want it to influence how I saw the character." Phoebe Cates has until now, been mainly known for her role in the two Gremlins movies and, if I'm not mistaken uttering the classic line "Which one of you bitches is my mother?" in the emotional, torrid (etc, etc) mini-series Lace. This is her first lead role and she does very well. Of course her hubby is the Oscar-winning star of A Fish Called Wanda and is better known as Kevin Kline. Phoebe recently made a cameo appearance in one of his movies (I Love you to Death) so was there an offer to return the favour in Drop Dead Fred? "Yes. But he said 'Bollocks to that!' It was weird having him around the set, a case of (at this point Rik blows a great big raspberry indicating a certain bodily function) 'Ooer ... a real actor!" Rik laughs. Of course this is all a long way from Yorkshire Televisionand the award-winning role of ultra-right politician Alan B'Stard in The New Statesman. The last time we saw him, he was lost in Siberia, so have we seen the last of the man with the biggest...majority in the House of Commons? "That depends on a lot of things, not least of all who wins the franchise in the regional television company shake- ups," Mayall notes seriously. " I might be prepared to do another series, but I do feel that Alan is, or was, very much a symbol of the 80's and the Thatcher Years. It's not always a good idea to stick with one character too long, particularly one such as him. I like to move on and do new things. At the moment I'm writing a new series with Ade Edmonson (Vivian in The Young Ones) called Bottomand that should be fun." This article appeared in its original form in Fantazia Magazine (1991) All text © John Mosby Author: John Mosby 25th June, 2014 Go to top Copyright ©2016 There Goes The Day (theregoestheday.com) .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Music & Entertainment Auction
    Hugo Marsh Neil Thomas Forrester (Director) Shuttleworth (Director) (Director) Music & Entertainment Auction Tuesday 19th February 2019 at 10.00 Viewing: For enquiries relating to the auction Monday 18th February 2019 10:00 - 16:00 please contact: 09:00 morning of auction Otherwise by Appointment Saleroom One 81 Greenham Business Park NEWBURY RG19 6HW Telephone: 01635 580595 Christopher David Martin David Howe Fax: 0871 714 6905 Proudfoot Music & Music & Email: [email protected] Mechanical Entertainment Entertainment Music www.specialauctionservices.com As per our Terms and Conditions and with particular reference to autograph material or works, it is imperative that potential buyers or their agents have inspected pieces that interest them to ensure satisfaction with the lot prior to auction; the purchase will be made at their own risk. Special Auction Services will give indications of the provenance where stated by vendors. Subject to our normal Terms and Conditions, we cannot accept returns. ORDER OF AUCTION Music Hall & other Disc Records 1-68 Cylinder Records 69-108 Phonographs & Gramophones 109-149 Technical Apparatus 150-155 Musical Boxes 156-171 Jazz/ other 78s 172-184 Vinyl Records 185-549 Reel to Reel Tapes 550-556 CDs/ CD Box Sets 557-604 DVDs 605-612 Music Memorabilia 613-658 Music Posters 659-666 Film & Entertainment Memorabilia Including items from the Estate of John Inman 667-718 Film Posters 719-743 Musical Instruments 744-759 Hi-Fi 760-786 2 www.specialauctionservices.com MUSIC HALL & OTHER DISC RECORDS 18. Music hall and similar records, 10 inch, 67, by Geo Robey (G & T 2-2721 & 18 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Young, Gifted and Punk: My Mad Days with Rik Mayall June 18, 2014 6.03Am BST
    Young, gifted and punk: my mad days with Rik Mayall June 18, 2014 6.03am BST The untimely death of me old mucker Rik Mayall last week has prompted a plethora of obituaries in the press and on television and radio. However, as someone who “nearly” grew up with Rik at Manchester University in the mid- 1970s (we never quite made the leap to post-adolescence) his premature death has been a devastating personal blow – as it has, I’m sure, to all those who knew him. As the youngest of the 1975 intake – Rik was only 56 years old when he died – his passing not only uncomfortably reminds us all of our own mortality but has invoked the glorious memories of an age of creative experiment and glorious mayhem. As an undergraduate studying Drama at Manchester University, I first met Rik when both housed in the Manchester University Hall’s of Residence at Owen’s Park, Fallowfield. What united us from the off was our love of the absurd, the irreverent and the cheap burgers from the so-called Armpit – the nearby Canadian Charcoal Pit take-away. Also we both had a penchant for pulling faces, putting on silly voices and like many of our generation, quoting large sections of Monty Python sketches, which were seen as de rigeur for “coolness” in the mid- 1970s. He was a fascinating life-force, not least because he could stick the top of his ear into the hole. The living was easy at that time with generous student grants to ease the squalor of student life – or rather to propagate it.
    [Show full text]
  • Shropshire Cover October 2017 .Qxp Shropshire Cover 22/09/2017 14:36 Page 1
    Shropshire Cover October 2017 .qxp_Shropshire Cover 22/09/2017 14:36 Page 1 ED GAMBLE AT Your FREE essential entertainment guide for the Midlands HENRY TUDOR HOUSE SHROPSHIRE WHAT’S ON OCTOBER 2017 ON OCTOBER WHAT’S SHROPSHIRE Shropshire ISSUE 382 OCTOBER 2017 ’ WhatFILM I COMEDY I THEATRE I GIGS I VISUAL ARTS I EVENTSs I FOOD On shropshirewhatson.co.uk PART OF WHAT’S ON MEDIA GROUP GROUP MEDIA ON WHAT’S OF PART inside: Yourthe 16-pagelist week by week listings guide stepAUSTENTATIOUS back in time at Theatre Severn TWITTER: @WHATSONSHROPS TWITTER: heavenlyMEGSON music and northern humour at The Hive FACEBOOK: @WHATSONSHROPSHIRE GhostlySPOOK-TASTIC! Gaslight returns to Blists Hill Victorian Town SHROPSHIREWHATSON.CO.UK Day of the Friday 10th November The Buttermarket, Shrewsbury tickets available at Dead thebuttermarket.co.uk Niko's F/P October 2017.qxp_Layout 1 25/09/2017 10:44 Page 1 Contents October Shrops.qxp_Layout 1 22/09/2017 12:23 Page 2 October 2017 Contents Disney On Ice - grab your passport for one big adventure at Genting Arena - more on page 45 Carrie Hope Fletcher Matt Lucas Awful Auntie the list talks about being part of talks about life, from Little David Walliams’ much-loved Your 16-page The Addams Family... Britain to Little Me story arrives on stage week-by-week listings guide feature page 8 interview page 19 page 30 page 53 inside: 4. First Word 11. Food 15. Music 20. Comedy 24. Theatre 39. Film 42. Visual Arts 44. Events @whatsonwolves @whatsonstaffs @whatsonshrops Wolverhampton What’s On Magazine Staffordshire What’s
    [Show full text]
  • COSTUME DESIGNER LUCIA SANTA-MARIA 2 RTS Best Costume Design Awards FEATURES INCLUDE
    AMANDA MCALLISTER PERSONAL MANAGEMENT LTD 74 Claxton Grove, London W6 8HE • Telephone: +44 (0) 207 244 1159 www.ampmgt.com • e-mail: [email protected] COSTUME DESIGNER LUCIA SANTA-MARIA www.luciasantamaria.co.uk 2 RTS Best Costume Design Awards FEATURES INCLUDE: A CHRISTMAS GIFT FROM Director Charles Martin-Smith BOB Producers Garry Jenkins, Tracy Jarvis, Adam Rolston Family Drama Exec. Producers James Bowen, Andrew Boswell Production Co. Parkhouse Pictures /Align / The Exchange Featuring Luke Treadway, Nina Wadia, Anna Wilson-Jones, Phaldut Sharma HIGH SPEED Director Jeff Jensen Action Sport Drama Producers Silvio Muraglia Stirling Belafonte Luca Brenna Exec. Producer Gina Mari Production Co. Classic Films / Eagle Pictures Featuring Sienna Miller, Andrew Lee Potts, Paul Nicholls RUBY ROBINSON Director Matt Lipsey ½ hr Surreal Silent Short Film Producer Joanna Hanlon, Exec. Producer Jo Sergeant Production Co. King Bert Productions / SKY Arts Featuring Kim Cattrall THE RAT TRAP Director Bridget Holding ½ hr Dark Comedy Producer Thomas Viner Production Co. Ruby Red Productions Featuring Amelia Fox and Mark Little PERFECT Director Rankin ½ hr Dark Comedy Producer Laura Hastings-Smith Production Co. Dazed and Confused Film & TV Featuring Kate Ashfield, Mark Warren BIFA AWARD BEST SHORT TELEVISION CREDITS INCLUDE: THE SPLIT 3 Directors Dee Koppang O’Leary, Abi Morgan 6 x 1hr Drama Series Producer Emma Genders (Covid production) Exec. Producers Lucy Dyke, Jane Featherstone, Lucy Richer Production Co. Sister Pictures / BBC1 MOTHERLAND 3 Director Simon Hynd 6 x 1hr Comedy Drama Series Producer Caroline Norris (Covid production) Exec. Producers Sharon Horgan, Clelia Mountford, Richard Boden, Holly Walsh Production Co. Merman Films / Delightful Industries / BBC2 FLACK 2 Directors Alicia McDonald, Oli Lansley, Stephen Moyer 6 x 1hr Comedy Drama Series Producer Debs Pisani Exec.
    [Show full text]
  • Slapstick 2017 Brings in New Stars and Pays Tribute to Victoria Wood and Rik Mayall
    NEWS from SLAPSTICK BRISTOL’S ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF SILENT & CLASSIC SCREEN COMEDY “Stupid Boy!”: Celebrating Dad’s Army with Ian Lavender SLAPSTICK 2017 BRINGS IN NEW STARS AND PAYS TRIBUTE TO VICTORIA WOOD AND RIK MAYALL Diary dates: Wednesday 18th to Sunday 22nd January 2017 Britain’s biggest celebration of silent and classic screen comedy returns to Bristol with a five day programme of archive hilarity that will include tributes to Victoria Wood, Rik Mayall and Pierre Etaix; surprising finds and a star-studded cast of event hosts that will see Roy Hudd, Shazia Mirza, Nigel Planer and Alexei Sayle making their Slapstick debuts Times, dates and venues vary – www.slapstick.org.uk Victoria Wood and Rik Mayall will be among the comedy giants being celebrated when Britain’s biggest festival of vintage screen comedy - Slapstick - returns to Bristol from January 18 to 22. Each is to get a special tribute event during a five-day festival that will showcase 100 years of stand-out film and television hilarity and see veteran entertainer Roy Hudd, the taboo- busting stand-up Shazia Mirza, HI-DI-HI star Jeffrey Holland and two stars of the UK’s first alternative comedy sit-com making their Slapstick debuts. Among the events so far confirmed for the Slapstick 2017 line-up are: • Rory Bremner hosting the festival’s centrepiece Silent Comedy Gala featuring live musical accompaniments by a 25 piece orchestra to films starring Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton and Laurel & Hardy • Marcus Brigstocke joining Nigel Planer and Alexei Sayle on a revisit to the anarchic
    [Show full text]
  • Rik Mayall Is Edwin the Eagle
    Rik Mayall is Edwin the Eagle Actor and comedian Rik Mayall has one major thing in “It was lucky she saw it as she was able to give me an insight common with his Shoebox Zoo character Edwin the Eagle. into how children will react to the series, and she loved it, especially the carved animals and she started crying when the “There’s no doubt about it,” admits the star of comedy classics little girl, Marnie, told her dad how much she missed her such as The Young Ones and Blackadder, “we are both hopeless dead mother.” at the 21st century. He is totally bamboozled by a computer and so am I.” Rik’s character, Edwin, is the self-appointed leader of the animated animal gang who have lain locked within the Rik (46) puts his technology aversion down to the quad bike Shoebox Zoo for 1100 years. accident, which almost killed him back in 1988. In a veiled reference to Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, ski jumper He suffered a severe head injury and lapsed into a coma for and hero of the Calgary Winter Olympics in 1988, Rik’s four days following the accident, which happened at his farm character cannot fly. in Devon. Despite his lack of skill in the air, an obvious failing in a bird “After recovering,” he continues, “it seemed everyone I knew of prey, Edwin is pompous, blustering and incapable of had mobile phones and computers and I didn’t know how admitting he is ever wrong. to work them. I still don’t.
    [Show full text]
  • "Don't Be Such a Girl, I'm Only Joking!" Post-Alternative Comedy, British Panel Shows, and Masculine Spaces" (2017)
    University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations August 2017 "Don't Be Such a Girl, I'm Only Joking!" Post- alternative Comedy, British Panel Shows, and Masculine Spaces Lindsay Anne Weber University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Communication Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, and the Gender and Sexuality Commons Recommended Citation Weber, Lindsay Anne, ""Don't Be Such a Girl, I'm Only Joking!" Post-alternative Comedy, British Panel Shows, and Masculine Spaces" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 1721. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/1721 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “DON’T BE SUCH A GIRL, I’M ONLY JOKING!” POST-ALTERNATIVE COMEDY, BRITISH PANEL SHOWS, AND MASCULINE SPACES by Lindsay Weber A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Media Studies at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee August 2017 ABSTRACT “DON’T BE SUCH A GIRL, I’M ONLY JOKING!” POST-ALTERNATIVE COMEDY, BRITISH PANEL SHOWS, AND MASCULINE SPACES by Lindsay Weber The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2017 Under the Supervision of Professor Elana Levine This thesis discusses the gender disparity in British panel shows. In February 2014 the BBC’s Director of Television enforced a quota stating panel shows needed to include one woman per episode. This quota did not fully address the ways in which the gender imbalance was created.
    [Show full text]
  • The Judas Kiss
    2016 BAM Winter/Spring #TheJudasKiss Brooklyn Academy of Music Alan H. Fishman, Chairman of the Board William I. Campbell, Vice Chairman of the Board Adam E. Max, Vice Chairman of the Board Katy Clark, President Joseph V. Melillo, Executive Producer The Judas Kiss BAM Harvey Theater May 11—14, 17—21, 24—28 & 31, Jun 1—4, 7—11 at 7:30pm; May 14, 21, 28, Jun 4 & 11 at 2pm; May 15, 22, 29, Jun 5 & 12 at 3pm Running time: approx. two hours & 20 mins. including intermission Written by David Hare Directed by Neil Armfield Chichester Festival Theatre in association with Robert Fox, Theatre Royal Bath Productions, and Hampstead Theatre Productions Season Sponsor: Set design by Dale Ferguson Costume design by Sue Blane Major support for theater at BAM provided by: The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation Lighting design by Rick Fisher The Francena T. Harrison Foundation Trust Sound design by Paul Groothuis Donald R. Mullen Jr. Original Casting Director Cara Beckinsale CDG The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc. The Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund Composed by Alan John The SHS Foundation The Shubert Foundation, Inc. Additional support provided by Broadway Stages. The Judas Kiss FOR THE JUDAS KISS General manager Kathy Bourne Associate director Jonathan O’Boyle Costume supervisor Allan Watkins Co-Costume supervisor/Wardrobe mistress Josie Thomas Wigs supervisor Helen Keelan Associate lighting Andrew Murrell Associate sound David Gregory Production manager Simon Marlow Production carpenter Micky Murray Company stage manager Ba Penney Deputy stage manager Sophia Dalton Canadian assistant stage manager Kathleen Harrison Rehearsal assistant stage manager Paul Puttock American stage manager R.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 News and Comic Affairs the Audience Reception of British
    News and Comic Affairs The audience reception of British Television Political Comedy 1962-2012 Matthew Crowder Royal Holloway, University of London A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Media Arts April 2015 1 Declaration of Authorship I, Matthew Crowder, hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. This thesis has not been submitted for a degree, either in the same or different form, to this or any other University. Signed: ______________________ Date: ________________________ 2 Abstract This thesis researches the reception of British television political comedy from 1962 to 2012, exploring the continuities and contrasts in viewers’ definitions, interpretations and evaluations of the genre. Television comedy scholarship has privileged the text but this first in-depth study of British political comedy conceptualises television genre as a cultural category, and adopts the method of qualitative historical reception research to explore the different ways that viewers have written about the genre. Political comedy's reception is dominated by discourses of power, and the genre’s comedic references to news and current affairs are consistently invoked in accounts of its effects upon everyday life. The research highlights viewers’ emotive responses in four case studies that place pleasure and displeasure, cultural distinctions, and social affiliations in their historical contexts, arguing that judgments about political comedy’s value, meaning and social effects are related to hierarchies of aesthetics and taste, and their relationship to public issues defined as socially significant. The chapter on That Was The Week That Was discusses beliefs that irreverent comedy could affect British institutions.
    [Show full text]
  • Mainstage Playbill
    Mainstage Richard Hopkins, Artistic Director Playbill By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Adapted by Steven Canny and John Nicholson Sponsored in part by the State of Flor- Patrick Noonan, Michael Daly, and ida, Department of State, Division of Tom Patterson. Photo by Matthew Holler. Cultural Affairs and the Florida Coun- cil on Arts and Culture.” THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES BY SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE ADAPTED BY STEVEN CANNY AND JOHN NICHOLSON CAST Michael Daly*...............Actor 2, Dr. Watson & Others Patrick Noonan*..........Actor 1, Sherlock Holmes & Others Tom Patterson*............Actor 3, Sir Henry Baskerville & Others Costume Designer Lighting Designer Martha Bromelmeier Deanna Fitzgerald Scenic Designers Isabel & Moriah Curley-Clay Stage Manager Roy Johns* Directed by Gavin Cameron-Webb Season Underwriters Georgia Court, Dennis & Graci McGillicuddy, Anne Nethercott, and Jules & Sheila Rose The Hound of the Baskervilles will be performed in two acts with a 15 minute intermission. The video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means whatsoever are strictly prohibited. THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Adaptation © 2007 Steven Canny & John Nicholson for Peepolykus www.peepolykus.com Copyright agent: Peepolykus, 19 Denmark Street, London, WC2H 8NA * Denotes member Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. ARTIST PROFILES MICHAEL DALY (Actor (dir. Kate Alexander). 2, Dr. Watson & Others) is New York: Sick (Coyote in his second production Rep); Streamers (440 at Florida Studio Theatre, Studios). Regional: Ether having performed in The Dome (Hartford Stage, Complete Works of William Huntington Theatre Shakespeare… Abridged Company); Ether Dome, in the 2010 season.
    [Show full text]
  • Channel 4'S 25 Year Anniversary
    Channel 4’s 25 year Anniversary CHANNEL 4 AUTUMN HIGHLIGHTS Programmes surrounding Channel 4’s anniversary on 2nd November 2007 include: BRITZ (October) A two-part thriller written and directed by Peter Kosminsky, this powerful and provocative drama is set in post 7/7 Britain, and features two young and British-born Muslim siblings, played by Riz Ahmed (The Road to Guantanamo) and Manjinder Virk (Bradford Riots), who find the new terror laws have set their altered lives on a collision course. LOST FOR WORDS (October) Channel 4 presents a season of films addressing the unacceptable illiteracy rates among children in the UK. At the heart of the season is a series following one dynamic headmistress on a mission to wipe out illiteracy in her primary school. A special edition of Dispatches (Why Our Children Can’t Read) will focus on the effectiveness of the various methods currently employed to teach children to read, as well as exploring the wider societal impact of poor literacy rates. Daytime hosts Richard and Judy will aim to get children reading with an hour-long peak time special, Richard & Judy’s Best Kids’ Books Ever. BRITAIN’S DEADLIEST ADDICTIONS (October) Britain’s Deadliest Addictions follows three addicts round the clock as they try to kick their habits at a leading detox clinic. Presented by Krishnan Guru-Murphy and addiction psychologist, Dr John Marsden, the series will highlight the realities of addiction to a variety of drugs, as well as alcohol, with treatment under the supervision of addiction experts. COMEDY SHOWCASE (October) Channel 4 is celebrating 25 years of original British comedy with six brand new 30-minute specials starring some of the UK’s best established and up and coming comedic talent.
    [Show full text]
  • Goldsmiths 87 0079879 6
    Stand-Up Comedy and Everyday Life: Post-war British Comedy and the Subversive Strain. Christopher Ritchie. Goldsmiths College, London, Ph. D Drama, 1998. - ME Ia- AM GOLDSMITHS 87 0079879 6 Abstract. This thesis "examinee,,, its to life , . stand-up comedy and relation everyday and presents a model of everyday life in the commodity society. It seeks to define stand up comedy and how it works as a performance mode and will offer a definition of the stand-up comedian. It will examine how jokes reflect opinions and attitudes within everyday life and how they can communicate negative cultural myths, stereotypes and ideologies but also reach beyond the merely absurd and comical to present authentic moments that enable us to locate the truth about ourselves. The thesis seeks to locate a stand-up comedy that enables us to understand ourselves in relation to life in the commodity society. The thesis traces a subversive lineage through post-Second World War comedy from The Goon Show through the satirists of the 1960s and Monty Pylhon's Flying Circus to Alternative Comedy and stand-up comedians in the present day. The 'Alternative Comedy moment' between 1979 and 1981 is central to the thesis as is the relation to American stand-up comedy, Punk and the rise of reactionary humour in Britain. Alternative Comedy is identified and placed in a social, political and counter-cultural context. The achievements and failures of this comedy will be discussed with particular focus on the redefinition of the role of women and sexual politics in stand-up comedy and the creation of a thriving London cabaret and comedy scene.
    [Show full text]